It’s been twenty years since Morgan Lander helped start the Canadian metal band Kittie (with sister Mercedes and original bandmates Fallon Bowman and Tanya Candler) in London, Ontario. They brought one of the heaviest and most fierce acts we had seen to date, and this is for all bands not just girl bands. There was a thing or two the guys could have learned from the harsh anguish they brought to their music, and I’m sure plenty of their male counterparts took notes and learned from Kittie’s quick rise to stardom in the metal world. Their debut album ‘Spit’ was what got everything started in 2000. The album still to this day is highly regarded as one of the best metal albums of that era. ‘Spit’ was was certified gold by the RIAA and sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States. Keep in mind when ‘Spit’ was recorded the members of the band were only 15-18 years of age. Kittie went on to release their sophomore record ‘Oracle’ in 2001. It was also in 2001 that guitarist and backing vocalist Fallon Bowman left the band. Her infamous growls on the song “Brackish” instantly made her a fan favorite. They followed ‘Oracle’ with the release of ‘Until the End’ in 2004.
Kittie incorporated nu-metal influences as well as incorporating speed, groove and death metal vibes. The combined chemistry of Mercedes and her sister Morgan gave the band this flare that wasn’t seen or heard with other bands. Kittie went on to release ‘Funeral for Yesterday’ (2007), ‘In the Black’ (2009) and ‘I’ve Failed You’ (2011). One of the saddest things the band had to deal with more recently was the death of bassist Trish Doan who passed away in 2017. Vocalist Morgan stated after Trish’s passing “She with her boundless energy, 10,000 ideas and a fiery, vibrant light that could never be extinguished, even now.” In the time spent in the band Trish added an amazing creative element to the Kittie and we were all saddened by her passing. Though ‘I’ve Failed You’ was the bands last release as of now in 2011, they started filming a documentary about the band in 2014 that would include all the past and present members of the band as part of a 20 year anniversary for the band. On August 30, 2017, the band announced the reunion of the original lineup for a one night only concert. They performed on October 27, 2017 in their hometown of Ontario. The show also coincided with the launch of the documentary. Whoever was in the crowd that night witnessed something that most of us would give anything to see. Kittie not only formed in the late 90’s but they molded the whole metal scene and they worked hard to get to their rightful place at the top.
Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast host Joshua Toomey welcomes Kittie vocalist Morgan Lander on this week’s episode of the podcast. Morgan talks about everything that is currently going on with Kittie and the recent documentary showing their history titled ‘Origins’. Toomey and Morgan also talk about forming the band and sometimes coming down to just looking for anyone that played an instrument. Morgan even talks about touring in the earlier days with much heavier bands like Nile and it made them need to go out with a chip on their shoulder. Morgan also talks about trying to get all the former and current members of the band together and playing a couple shows maybe in L.A. and New York and do something similar to what they did on ‘Origins’ documentary. You can hear the entire interview below.
